FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — This offseason, the Atlanta Falcons reopened the door to their 2020 team by hiring head coach Raheem Morris – but running back Todd Gurley won’t be joining in the reunion.

Gurley, who starred collegiately at the University of Georgia from 2012-14 before becoming a top-10 pick by the Los Angeles Rams in 2015, enjoyed a strong professional career that includes three All-Pro nods and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award in 2017.

After being released by the Rams following the 2019 season, Gurley signed a one-year contract with the Falcons for what ultimately proved to be his final professional campaign.

Gurley led Atlanta in rushing in 2020, taking 195 carries for 678 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 25 catches for 164 yards through the air.

But the Falcons struggled, as an 0-5 start led to the firing of head coach Dan Quinn and the promotion of Morris, then the defensive coordinator, to interim head coach. There were also strict, league-issued guidelines amidst concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, which altered the season’s atmosphere.

Atlanta finished the season 4-7 under Morris’s guide and 4-12 overall – and Gurley, in a recent appearance on the 25/10 Show hosted by ex-NFL players LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson, didn’t hold back on his feelings about the year.

“I kind of had to see what they were talking about for real, because I played at Georgia,” Gurley said. “So, that one happened. And I was like, the season was sorry.”

Gurley’s 2020 season marked career lows in touches (220) and yards from scrimmage (842) while he faced questions surrounding the long-term health of his knee, which featured an “arthritic component” due to an ACL tear in college.

After completing his sixth professional campaign, Gurley reflected on his life state. He felt his resume had enough substance, and perhaps more importantly, he felt internally fulfilled.

“It was like, ‘Alright bro, I live in L.A. I’m chilling. I’ve [done] everything,’” Gurley said. “Of course, I would love to have a ring and stuff like that. But I went to a Super Bowl, lost. I wasn’t really tripping. I don’t know, I feel like I did a lot of stuff that I never would’ve thought I would’ve ever did.

“And just having fun, playing football, living out a lot of people’s dreams – that type of vibe.”

Gurley said he received an offer to play for the Baltimore Ravens, his childhood favorite time, during the 2021 season but took a broader perspective and decided he was content residing in Los Angeles.

The now-29-year-old Gurley hasn’t played a snap since the 2020 campaign closed. He hasn’t officially retired, but he’s expressed no interest in returning.

And even if the right offer comes to end in a place than “sorry,” he feels at peace with his playing career and current place in life.

“It really came down to, it didn’t really matter if I scored 10 more touchdowns or if I scored zero,” Gurley said. “It wasn’t going to satisfy me no more, for real.”

SHARPSBURG, Ga. (AP) —A man killed three people at a home near Atlanta before fatally shooting himself early Saturday, sheriff’s officials in Georgia said.

Deputies found two bodies in the driveway when they arrived at a home in Sharpsburg, Georgia, after receiving several 911 calls shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. Another body was in the doorway of the home, the post said.

As deputies arrived at the scene, a man ran into the home, and a gunshot was heard, sheriff’s officials said.

A SWAT team arrived and secured the home and found the body of the man, officials said.

Sheriff’s officials said they’re investigating the case as a “murder-suicide.” Officials have not released the names of the victims or the suspected shooter pending notification of family members.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Sharpsburg is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Today was an important deadline for the Atlanta Hawks for several reasons. One of them concerned emerging forward Vit Krejci and whether or not to give him a two-way qualifying offer. The Hawks made the easy decision to extend a two-way qualifying offer to Krejci according to Lauren Williams at the AJC, making him a restricted free agent now. Atlanta can now match any offer that another team puts in front of Krejci.

This was a pretty easy decision for the Hawks to make considering how well Krejci played toward the end of the season. Because of the injuries that the Hawks had to the entire team, Krejci was forced to play a lot down the stretch, including starting a few games. He played in 22 games last season, starting 14 of them and averaged 6.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 2.5 APG. He shot 49% from the field, including 41% from three. At 6’8 195 LBS, Krejci became a wing player with size and shooting that the Hawks were lacking. His best performance came in the Hawks huge comeback against the Boston Celtics, a game in which he scored 16 points, including 13 points in one quarter. He was 4-7 from three that night.

What could Krejci’s role be on this team? The Hawks have gotten bigger and better on the wing and at the point of attack through the early parts of this offseason. They drafted Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick and just acquired Dyson Daniels in the Dejounte Murray trade. De’Andre Hunter is still on the team as well. Krejci is young and showed he has potential last season, but it was also in a very small sample size. There is not a clear pathway for him to play a ton of minutes this season, but that could change. I think the Hawks made the right move today by extending him the offer.

The Hawks have been making key decisions today with their free agents. They did not extend a qualifying offer to Saddiq Bey, making him an unrestricted free agent and they picked up the $2.2 million dollar team option for Garrison Matthews, bringing him back for another season. Krejci